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Mortimer Toynbee (Earth-616)
__TOC__ Real Name: Mortimer Toynbee Nicknames: None known Former Aliases: The Terrible Toad-King Other Current Aliases: None known Status Occupation: Professional criminal Legal Status: Citizen of the United Kingdom with a criminal record Identity: Secret, but known to law enforcement agencies Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, member of the Misfits Base of Operations: Mobile Origin Place of Birth: York, England Known Relatives: None First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #4 Origin: Origin unknown. History Mortimer Toynbee was abandoned by his parents so early in childhood that he cannot remember them. He was placed in an orphanage where the other children, who regarded him as a freak due to his ugliness, his unusual physique, and his leaping ability, continually tormented him. Toynbee was so traumatized by his loneliness and the continual abuse he received that it affected his learning abilities. The teachers and administrators in the orphanage therefore regarded Toynbee as mentally retarded, even though, in actuality, he was of normal intelligence. So desperate did Toynbee become for affection that he developed a pathetically subservient personality, and would unquestioningly obey anyone he thought sincerely cared about him. At some point after achieving adulthood, Toynbee was discovered by Magneto and recruited for his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Magneto gave Toynbee the alias of the Toad because of Toynbee's powers, appearance, and personality. Magneto did not believe that the Toad's powers would be of any great service to him, but he thought it useful to have an expendable pawn who would follow his orders unquestioningly. The Toad was indeed pathetically devoted to Magneto, whom he subconsciously referred to as a surrogate father. He blinded himself to Magneto's continual verbal and physical abuse because Magneto was out to conquer the human race that had rejected the Toad. The Toad believed that he would be given a place of honor in the new society that Magneto would create. As a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Toad met the mutant Scarlet Witch, and became infatuated with her, though she did not reciprocate the feeling. Magneto and the Toad were captured by the alien called the Stranger and imprisoned on a distant world. When Magneto first escaped, he callously left the Toad behind, and the Toad's attitude towards his master began to change. After being recaptured, Magneto escaped a second time and took the Toad with him, but his continued bullying caused the Toad's resentment to increase until it flared into murderous hatred. The Toad abandoned Magneto to die in an explosion that followed an encounter with the Avengers and the X-Men. It was later discovered that Magneto survived. The Toad became a recluse, but was soon captured along with the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, first by the mutant-hunting robots called the Sentinels and later by the extra-dimensional warrior Arkon. When the Avengers rescued Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, the Toad asked to remain on Arkon's world, where he employed its technological resources to build a ship that would carry him across space and the dimensional barrier. He returned to the Stranger's planet. There he studied and stole the Stranger's technology and equipment in an effort to become more powerful and thus more appealing to the Scarlet Witch. However, just as he prepared to return to Earth, he leaned that the Scarlet Witch had married the Vision. Enraged, he planned to strike out at her, attacked the Avengers to learn her whereabouts, and was defeated. He served a short prison term and was released, at which time he commissioned the criminal Arcade to construct a series of deadly traps in a seemingly deserted castle in upstate New York. Renaming himself the Terrible Toad-King, he planned to entrap everyone who he felt had abused him, placing them in the castle where they would be killed in the attempt to escape. His first victim was the X-Man called the Angel. In capturing the Angel, the Toad accidentally kidnapped the Thing, too. Just as the two were about to escape, Arcade stepped in and demanded immediate payment for his services. Unable to pay and fearful for his own life, the Toad fell into a panic. The Angel took pity on Toynbee and formulated an agreement with him to convert the castle into an amusement park, paying the debt in the process. The endeavor was a success until it was discovered that the castle's original owner was Victor Von Doom. Doom sent a robot of himself and a security force to remove the Toad and restore the structure to its original state. Toynbee again fell into despondency and decided to commit suicide, an attempt that was interrupted by Spider-Man. In an effort to buoy Toynbee's sprits, Spider-Man offered his friendship. As eager for this acceptance as he had been for Magneto's, the Toad became determined to be Spider-Man's partner, despite Spider-Man's gentle protests. The Toad resorted to a ruse in an effort to change his mind, and hired a group of criminals to attack Spider-Man, an assault the Toad would then help foil. In the process he attracted the attention of Frog Man and Spider-Kid, two young men who also wished to team-up with Spider-Man. During the fight, the three found themselves interested in a partnership of their own and formed a trio they called the Misfits. Though seeking the help of a psychiatrist during this period, Toynbee was still obsessed with the Scarlet Witch. In direct contradiction to his law-enforcing partnership with Frog Man and Spider-Kid, the Toad used the technology stolen from the Stranger to attempt to kidnap her. His first such try, during a Thanksgiving celebration, involved robot doppelgangers of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and was stopped by the Vision, Quicksilver, and the recently-reformed Magneto. It was Quicksilver who actually subdued the Toad, who was again calling himself the Terrible Toad-King. Toynbee and his automatons were removed to Project Pegasus for study, but one of the robots reactivated on a timed program and freed its builder. The Vision pursued the Toad to his ship and narrowly defeated him, sending the ship into space, out of control. The toad regained control in time to successfully return to Earth, where he attacked once again. He became violently agitated when this attempt brought him into conflict with Spider-Man, whose approval he still valued. The Toad defeated Spider-Man and the Vision using a powerful exo-skeleton and forced his way into the New Jersey home owned by the Scarlet Witch and the Vision. The Scarlet Witch was eight months pregnant, and when the Toad confronted her, he found her condition repulsive. She defeated him, but he escaped. Toad, Mystique, Juggernaut, Iceman, and Jean Grey were later summoned by Prosh to stop the Stranger's attempt to accelerate the evolution of humans and mutants. During their time jumps an embryo thought to be an unborn Toad was examined by the Black Womb Project and deemed unfit. His powers were later increased by Prosh and Mystique as the team battled the Stranger. After their success, Toad left. Most recently Toad has been seen on his way to the Xavier Institute. Characteristics Height: 5'8" Weight: 260 lbs (118 kg) Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Unusual Features: None Powers Known Powers: The Toad is a mutant with superhuman leaping ability. He has been observed reaching an altitude of twenty-four feet and covering a distance on the ground of thirty-six feet in a single leap. No definite limit to his leaping ability is yet known. Although the Toad usually stands in a crouching position, he can stand erect if he wishes. His unusually flexible spine enables him to crouch continually without damage. After a recent secondary mutation, the Toad possesses the ability to extend his tongue great distances and ensnare objects and people. He is also able to spit a caustic phlegmatic substance. Known Abilities: The Toad has no knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. However, his powers enable him to execute a leaping kick of superhuman force at an opponent. The Toad has a surprisingly great knowledge of advanced technology, thanks to his studies of machinery in the possession of Arcade, Magneto, and the Stranger. However, he is not himself talented at developing technological devices. Strength Level: The Toad possesses superhuman strength, primarily in his lower torso. He can lift (press) approximately one ton with his arms, and leg-press approximately three tons under optimal conditions. Miscellaneous Equipment: None known. Transportation: None known. Weapons: None known. Notes * No special notes. Related Articles * External Links * References * Marvel Directory ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:Mutant Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Brown Hair Category:Brown Eyes Category:English Category:Silver Age Category:Brotherhood members